Incognito
by Xaphrin
Summary: A possible threat from an underground crime organization forced Aqualad and Raven to go undercover to try and uncover all secrets regarding this new threat. But the more time that Aqualad spends with Raven, the harder it is to keep his true feelings a secret from her. And now, he's not sure how much longer it will be before he breaks and tells her everything.
1. Prologue

**Incognito  
** Prologue

-o-

The air in the room was thick and heavy, almost stifling, but Aqualad refused to give up. Instead, he stared at his friend, watching him with an expression that could only be labeled as "stern determination." He fidgeted with a pen in his hands before placing it on the desk between him and Robin, waiting for him to break the silence.

"You realize what you're asking, right?" Robin ran a hand over his face, fighting back a groan as his head fell back against his shoulders. He tapped a pen over the notebook in front of him, a few notes were haphazardly scribbled over the lines, crossed out, underlined, before he finally gave up trying to keep his mind centered on what Aqualad was telling him. Nostrils flaring a little, he pitched forward and pressed his forearms to the tabletop. The was the _last_ thing either of their teams needed. "If what you're saying is real, then the city could be in serious danger. Very, very _real_ danger."

"Both of our cities." Aqualad's eyes avoided his own, shifting a little under the weight of Robin's stare. He didn't want to admit that all the lines made sense, every connection that he wished he could have disproved had been proven over and over again. This situation was dangerous, and if Aqualad thought he could have handled it on his own, he would have. But it was just a little too far out of his league, so here he was, asking for help. He rubbed his thumb along the edge of his jaw and looked away. "I'm not asking for something you can't handle. You and I both know what they can do and what they're good at. It's going to be dangerous, but you've done an amazing job training all of your teammates and I know they can-"

"You're asking me to put _her_ in danger."

"It's not something that you haven't done before." Aqualad felt a little miffed, his expression shifting into frustration as he ran his hands through his hair. It wasn't as if he was asking Robin to do something he wouldn't have done himself, in fact, Aqualad _was_ putting himself in the exact same danger. All he was doing was asking for help - _her_ help. He shifted in the cold, hard chair and leaned over the tabletop, looking into Robin's face. "I know that this isn't exactly what I would call… _an ideal situation_ -"

Robin snorted, rolling his eyes to the ceiling.

"-but it's all we've got."

"You're asking me to put one of my best teammates in very real, very _present_ danger as you attempt to navigate a society you know _very_ little about." Robin tapped his fingers on the desktop and watched him with that slow, dangerous look. "I trust you on the battlefield, Garth, but I don't trust you here. I don't trust you to be… as _tactful_ as you should given the delicacy of the situation."

"I am a _prince_ -"

"Of _Atlantis._ Which, as you know, is entirely different than high society that may or may not include organized crime."

"It's not _that_ different."

Robin just lifted an eyebrow, but he said nothing else for a long moment.

Aqualad sighed and avoided his stare, wincing. "I know, okay?" He pursed his lips and glanced out the small window into the night of the bay. City lights flickered off the water, sparkling and shining in the darkness, making it seem almost serene. "I know, that I am not the most _adept_ at navigating human culture, let alone a society like this one. I get that, and I understand my shortcomings. That's why I asked that Raven be my partner for this mission. She's better than me at these kinds of things and I trust her, which is important between partners."

"I _know._ " Robin sighed and let another long silence fall over them. "She _hates_ these kinds of missions, you know that right?" He lifted an eyebrow and stared at him. " _Hates_ them. Abhors them is probably a better word. The last time I made her go undercover like this, she didn't talk to me for a month."

"In her defense, you paired her with _Beast Boy_. What exactly did you think would happen?"

Robin made a soft chortle, as if he had no other option but to agree with them.

"It's only for a few weeks." Aqualad blushed and looked away. "She just has to pretend for a little bit and then she can go back to being a Titan. And we can both act as if this whole thing never happened."

"Mm." Robin propped his head up on a fist and stared at him. "But _you_ won't."

He feigned ignorance. "I won't what?"

"Pretend that this never happened." Robin's lips pressed into a thin line and he stared at him, never relenting. "I'm a detective, Garth. I'm _trained_ to see things that others don't. Don't think that I haven't seen the way you look at her when you think no one else is looking, or how you go out of your way to help her whenever you can, or the little conversations and jokes you give her, or-"

"I get it." Aqualad cut him off, his cheeks flushed bright red. "I get that you… _know_."

"I'm not saying it to be mean or throw you under the bus, but I don't want you to think that she won't be professional. She _will_ be able to act as if the whole thing has never happened, she _will_ be able to keep her distance after everything is over." Robin picked up the pen again and he sighed, making a hasty note on the notebook again. "And she won't confuse her cover for something real."

Aqualad looked away, his jaw clenching.

"Will you be able to do the same?"

"You're treating me like I don't know what I'm doing, Dick." Aqualad purposefully used his real name, desperately trying to keep his emotions at bay. He knew what Robin was doing, he was trying to get him to realize that there were real implications to the mission he had proposed. Aqualad knew that, of course he did. How could he _not_? His relationship with Raven was… _complicated_ to say the least, but he could keep business and his emotions apart and completely separate. But, the way Robin was treating him, it was as if he didn't trust Aqualad to do just that.

"You're a talented hero, Garth."

Aqualad lifted an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

"But, you can let your emotions get the better of you."

He winced. "I won't."

There was a long pause and Robin rubbed his forehead again, still fighting off a headache. After a few seconds he looked back into Aqualad's face and gave a resigned sigh.

"You have to promise me that this entire thing will remain professional, that you will do your best to keep her safe, and that if things get too harried you _will call us_." Robin's mouth set into a thin, sharp line and his eyes narrowed. He tapped his fingers on the desk, looking at him with a stern expression. "No trying to figure it out yourself, no arguing, _nothing_. You will come the minute shit hits the fan. Promise me."

"I promise."

Robin licked his lips. "Alright. Then let's begin the preparations."

* * *

 _I don't anticipate this on being super long 4 - 6 chapters and (maybe) some tasteful smut (we'll see how I feel). I hope to have the next chapter up soon! Thank you so much for being awesome!_


	2. Chapter One

**Incognito  
** Chapter One

-o-

Raven sat down at the table in the middle of the small kitchenette and upended the contents of the brown envelope in front of her. Splayed over the table were all the appropriate documentation for her new identity - passports, driver's license, marriage certificate, all flawlessly executed and labeling her as Rachel Seabaron. An eyebrow lifted at the name and she huffed in annoyance. "Seabaron"? Aqualad couldn't think of a less obvious name? He might as well have named them both "Atlantean".

She sighed and stacked her IDs in a neat pile on the corner of the table before glancing at the one thing left - _the ring_. Something in her heart twisted strangely and she tapped her fingers against the wood, as if silently debating with herself what this could possibly mean. Oh, right. _Nothing._ This was a mission first and foremost, and she needed to remember that. Aqualad chose her because of her empathic and magical powers, not because he might have had…

Raven's mind trailed off and she felt her pulse quicken and her breath skip and swirl around in her chest as vague images and rogue thoughts began to move inside her imagination. This was wrong. She needed to focus. _Focus!_ She shook her head and quickly slammed the door on those thoughts, trying to keep her head from running in too many directions at once. This wasn't anything she couldn't handle, she just had to remember that. Being undercover as some kind of married or engaged couple was nothing new to her. She'd done it at least half a dozen times with various members of the Titans, for a few hours or a few weeks, and it hadn't seemed to matter before. So… why did it matter now?

Raven's head fell into her hands and she stared down at the ring, still glittering back at her. She knew _exactly_ why it mattered now, she just couldn't admit it to herself.

Shifting a little in her seat, Raven picked up the small, silver band encrusted with gems and slipped it onto her left hand without a second thought. It didn't matter what the situation was, or her feelings for her teammate, she was going to perform this mission to the best of her abilities and she refused to let her emotions get in the way. She was a professional, and professionals didn't start thinking that aliases and covers were real.

"Hey."

Raven looked up into Aqualad's dark eyes, her cheeks suddenly flushing with a rush of surprise and emotions. She knew that he couldn't read her mind or know exactly what she was thinking, but the thought that he walked in on her while she was debating with herself, still made her feel strange. It was almost as if she'd been caught doing something wrong. She needed to take control of the situation before she fell victim to it.

"I see you made it, _Mr. Seabaron_." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, and she watched the sheepish expression cross his face as he looked away.

"I thought it was a good name." He glanced at her before looking away again. "But… I can see you don't agree with me."

"You might as well have called yourself 'Ocean Lord'." Raven stood up and picked up her IDs to shove them into a nearby drawer in their small, but luxurious suite in the hotel. She could hear soft, classical music coming from the sitting area, and the whole situation began to feel surreal again. She shook her head and watched Aqualad for a long moment. "Or 'Viscount River'. Or 'Duke of Water'. Or-"

"You've made your point, Raven." He sighed and shook his head. "It's a dumb name. I get it."

The mild annoyance in his voice made Raven recoil a bit, and she felt a dark spot blossom over her heart as she realized that she might have insulted him. She shifted again, looking down at the little, silver band still resting on her hand. It was a fake symbol, but a symbol nonetheless. She had promised to work with him on this mission, and promised to be the best teammate and partner she could be, given the circumstances anyway. Raven pushed at her hair and looked away, choosing to stare at the boring, nondescript art hanging on the wall.

"Sorry," she muttered, wracking her brain for a viable excuse for her actions. Several long, silent seconds later and she was still coming up empty. Her head fell into her hands and she sighed, wondering if she should just tell him the truth? That thought was enough to make her shiver. She knew better than to jeopardize the integrity of a mission by introducing _feelings_ into the volatile mix. That was practically _asking_ for the entire thing to blow up in her face. Raven glanced back up at his fallen expression and settled on any excuse she could think of.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, her voice still soft as she returned to her seat at the table. "The last time I was on a mission like this it didn't go so well."

A lie. Well, not _totally_ a lie. Not the complete truth, but not a lie either. Her last 'married' mission had been with Beast Boy which had turned out to be a complete waste of her time and his, and it certainly hadn't helped that he was a tactless as they come. It was an annoying, frustrating experience, but obviously not the reason for her current mood.

"It's… okay."

Aqualad sighed and fell down into the chair across from her, his stare meeting her own. There was another stretch of silence and he reached across the small table, his fingertips sliding against the edge of her hand in a touch that was meant to be some kind of solidarity between them. Instead, it felt like her whole world was suddenly roaring to life. Raven tried to keep her face expressionless, but she couldn't help but focus on his touch. It was like electricity was sparking wherever his hand moved, fizzing against her skin until she couldn't focus on anything but him.

"Look," he began again, his voice still soft as he stroked the back of her hand. "I know that this isn't the most ideal situation we've been in, and I know that some of your past experiences with these types of missions have gone horribly awry-"

Raven snorted. He had _no_ idea.

"-but I'm hoping that we can at least work together."

"Of course we can work together. Why would you think that we couldn't?"

"You don't seem exactly _thrilled_ about this mission." He shrugged, but didn't pull his hand away from her own. "I know that your last mission like this went bad - trust me, Robin reminded me the entire time I was asking for permission - but I was hoping that we could make this different. I'm not Beast Boy. I'm not your other teammates. And, anyway, you and I are friends… at least, I thought we were." His cheeks flushed and he filled pulled his hand away from her own, shifting uncomfortably. A little bit of panic seemed to flood his expression and he licked his lips nervously. "Please tell me I'm not wrong and we're actually friends."

"We _are_ friends. We've been friends for years, Garth." Raven's eyebrows knitted together in confusion and surprise. Was he insinuating that he wasn't sure if they were friends? Or that she didn't have the ability to work with him? Of course she could work with him, or she wouldn't have agreed to the mission in the first place. Yes, her feelings for him were bound to get in the way, but she would try to sideline them the best that she could for the sake of the mission. She knew what she was doing… at least, she hoped she knew what she was doing.

"Garth…" Raven shook her head and sighed again, trying to explain herself without giving everything away. "We're friends. I'm not upset about working with you. There are just… other things here at play, not just the mission."

That was a vague enough answer, right?

"Like what?"

Of _course_ he would ask that. Raven shifted in her chair again and looked away. "I don't know if I want to talk about it just yet. It's kind of… _complicated_."

Her eyes flicked to his confused expression and something inside her was screaming out to tell him. It was railing against her senses and crying out like a caged animal begging to be free.

Raven was a reserved woman, keeping her emotions at bay as best as she could for the majority of her life, but something about the way Aqualad looked right now made her want to say everything she'd been bottling up for years. His eyes were soft, but his attention was glued to her, as if fascinated with nothing less than _who she was_. Everything was raging inside her like a storm that she couldn't control, and she wanted to simply slam her hands down on the table and let go of everything thought she ever had about him.

She wanted to tell him what she thought of his hair. She wanted to tell him how she could spend forever thinking about his eyes like some disgusting lovesick schoolgirl. She wanted to tell him that his body was the stuff inappropriate thoughts were born from. She wanted to tell him that while their friendship was important to her, she really wanted to try something else… something _more_. She wanted to admit every single one of her feelings to him.

But she didn't.

Instead, holding just barely onto the ragged edges of her emotions, Raven stood up and walked away from him. Because walking away was easy, and coming to terms with these feelings inside her spelled nothing other than disaster.

"It's been a long day." She licked her lips and walked out of the kitchenette, muttering more to herself than to him. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"Oh." Pause. "Okay."

Raven stopped at the bathroom door, taking a second to turn and look at the back of his head as he stared at the table. The low light from a few lamps cast strange shadows over his face, almost as if the darkness was touching and stroking him with the same kind of tenderness and care that she had imagined her own hands to touch him. His hair fell into his eyes and he turned around, watching her with that same confused expression again, as if he wasn't quite able to get a read on her.

Raven licked her lips and felt a strange sort of desire start to pooled low in her stomach, curling around the edges of her senses until it felt like she might drown. Her nostrils flared and her eyes swept down the curve of his back, knowing that his too-tight t-shirt was leaving very little to the imagination. Briefly, she wondered what those muscles would look like when water was streaming down his back and he was-

Raven blushed brightly, and she stopped herself from completing that thought. _Azar_ , this was going to be a long, _long_ mission.

Aqualad cocked his head to the side. "Is there something else?"

A half-second skipped by, and Raven felt the words escape her mouth before she could stop them. "Did you want to join me?"

Oh no. Had she really just said…

Aqualad reeled back, his eyes wide with shock.

She really _had_ just said that.

Raven watched his lungs fill with a slow breath of air, his chest pushing even tighter against that black cotton. For a moment she thought the seams might burst, and what a _pity_ that would have been.

He blinked and continued to stare at her. "W-what?"

"For dinner, I mean. Join me for… _dinner_." Raven forced herself to remain calm, hoping he didn't see the panic in her eyes. She was still reeling from the thought that she had actually asked him to join her in the shower. A small, awkward smile split her lips and she continued to watch him stare at her. "I heard this hotel has a really nice restaurant on the top floor and I've always wanted to go so…dinner?"

"Y-yeah." He swallowed, obviously trying to keep a hold on his own thoughts. "Dinner sounds good."

"Mm. Okay. Let me shower and we'll go." Holding onto as much composure as she had left (which wasn't a lot), Raven opened the bathroom door and stepped inside. A few moments passed in a long, sort of stretched out silence as she fell against the door.

What in the world did she just _do_?

* * *

 _Thank you for being awesome, friends!_


	3. Chapter Two

**Incognito  
** Chapter Two

-o-

"So, tell me the plan."

Aqualad jerked from his thoughts and he raised his eyes to meet Raven's. She was leaning across the table, tapping her fingers against the white tablecloth as her eyes darted around the room. It was almost as if she couldn't focus on one thing, and instead tried to take in as much information as possible. He could practically _see_ her casing the room, counting the patrons, watching the waitstaff, investigating the dishes being served. If they weren't in public, Aqualad would have laughed. Robin had trained her well, that was for sure.

He reached out and pushed his fingertips against her own, quickly stilling her nervous movements. There was a snap of electricity where they touched, like a fire burning between them, but Aqualad pretended not to notice, and instead focused on waiting for her to look at him. He could feel something roiling just under her skin, bubbling and churning, as if it needed to break free, but Raven somehow managed to keep a hold on it. She was, after all, and expert at controlling her emotions.

When her eyes had finally met his own, he let go of her hand and cocked his head to the side. "Raven, what's going on?"

She sighed, but didn't pull away.

"Raven…"

"I'd prefer not to talk about it." She sighed and finally looked away, staring out the window to the skyline. "Not now, at least. It's… _complicated_.

Fair enough. Although, to be honest, what in their life _wasn't_ complicated? Instead of voicing that thought, Aqualad just nodded in understanding, and reached for the cocktail in front of him. He needed something to focus on other than Raven's dark eyes and the fact that her dress was a little lower cut than he was expecting. When she leaned over the edge of the table, he caught the faint outline of a black, lace bra and his heart skipped. Shifting in his seat, he shook his head and took a long sip of his drink.

He really, _really_ needed to focus.

"So, the plan is to navigate and infiltrate the circle of friends of Julius Fraterro to gather enough evidence to bring him to court. I believe that he's been going through illegal and black market trade organizations to manufacture and distribute a new kind of drug in the US. And even more than that, the run off from his operations has been harming the wildlife in the surrounding sea ports."

Raven smirked. "So it's drug trafficking you're trying to stop and conserve the seas?"

"They are my home, you know. I'm going to try and protect them… and bringing in a notorious drug supplier is a nice way to help that." Aqualad paused and took a long drink of his cocktail before setting it back down on the table. Drinking and talking business seemed to keep his mind far away from Raven's breasts and the sight of her chewing on her lower lip. It at least gave him the option to stay focused on anything _other_ than what she was doing. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Anyway, right now, most of what I have is just speculation and now a whole lot more, but I know that there's truth and weight to what he's doing, I just have to find it."

"So, you asked me to join you to see if I can help find the truth." She propped her head up on her hand and watched him. "Using my powers to help him expose the truth and find out exactly what he's up to, right?"

He nodded in agreement with her. "I asked you on this mission to get confirmation and evidence we can use in court, yes. You were absolutely imperative to have on this mission, Raven. You're my friend, you're smart, and you're strong-" He watched her blush and glance away, but continued to watch him out of the corner of her eye. "-but your powers are something we needed as well. I know that we can bring him down together."

Raven shifted, looking into her own cocktail and avoiding his stare. "Oh."

Was it his imagination, or did she look a little dejected at the thought. Aqualad shifted in his seat again, trying not to dwell on the thought too much. He had promised Robin that he was going to be nothing _but_ professional, that he was going to keep himself together and not let his emotions get the better of him. But here he was, four hours into a mission and he was already thinking about all the things he _shouldn't_. He was thinking about her dark eyes, and her full lips, and her dress that was too low. He was thinking about all of these horrible, wonderful things that should have stayed far away from his mind.

Biting back another groan, Aqualad licked his lips and tasted the sweet burn of the alcohol clinging to them. The back of his head felt a little fuzzy, and he realized that he was on his third cocktail and he should really slow down before he did something he would regret later. And yet, somehow that thought never seemed to sink in his mind. He took another drink and glanced up at Raven, briefly imagining vodka-drenched kisses with Raven's lips as they-

He stopped that train of thought and took a deep breath. He _really_ needed to focus.

"So, just my powers?"

His mind snapped back into focus and he looked at her, eyebrows knitting together. She was nervous, still trying to find her footing in this situation, and he couldn't blame her for that. "You didn't hear the part about smart, strong, and my friend?"

"I did." She shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure I heard you _correctly_."

"You did." He smiled softly and watched her for a long moment, not sure of how to progress the conversation. There was a sort of strange, tense air between them, and he wanted to pretend that it wasn't there, but he couldn't quite ignore the feeling. It was still there, running along the back of his spine like a constant reminder that this wasn't meant to be fun, this was their mission.

"Something's bothering _you_." Raven downed the rest of her drink and stared at him for a long moment, her fingers beginning to tap again. Her head tilted to the side and her eyes practically bored into him, trying to understand exactly what was going on. She hummed softly and sat back in her chair "Something is _definitely_ bothering you. Your mind is scattered and I can't get a read on any of your thoughts."

Aqualad sighed and shook his head. "You know I don't like it when you try to read me, Raven."

She shrugged. "You broadcast your emotions loud enough, I can't ignore them after a while." There was a brief pause and she continued to stare, her attention rapt on him alone. "So, tell me, Garth… what's bothering you?"

"I'd rather not."

Her eyebrows lifted in surprise, and Aqualad realized that it was rare for them to keep secrets. True, they had their moments when they were tender and guarded, and things seemed a little too raw and open to discuss easily, but they generally tried to be as open as possible. Guilt sunk into his stomach and he glanced back at his cocktail, feeling a bit like he'd just slapped her and walked away without a word. They were _friends_. He always told her everything that was on his mind, except _this_. He wasn't sure if he could tell her about _this_ \- about his feelings for her, as complicated and confusing as they were.

"Okay."

He looked at her, seeing the hurt darkening her eyes, and his stomach twisted. "Raven…"

"I understand, Garth."

"It's not what you think." No, no, _no_. He couldn't be feeling this way now. He couldn't be thinking about this right now. This wasn't the right time.

Aqualad reached for his empty glass if only to have something to distract him for a moment. His hands were shaking as his fuzzy mind seemed to fill with the wrong things to think about, and he began to wonder what the harm was in telling her the truth. It was time he told her. He'd been thinking about it for months now - to _finally_ let everything out in the open. But now wasn't the right time, he knew that! He promised Robin he wouldn't do this. He promised _himself_ that he wouldn't do this. They were in the middle of an investigation and if he jeopardized the mission because his stupid emotions got in the way, he'd never forgive himself.

And yet, here he was, looking into her face and actually contemplating it… _like an idiot_.

"It's not-"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She cut him off with a wave of her hand, feigning indifference to him, but there was still a shadow of hurt invading her expression. "I understand if it's something you don't want to discuss, and I'm sorry if I pressed the issue."

"That's not it, Raven." He sighed and took a slow, deep breath, choosing to use her own words against her. "It's just that it's complicated."

Raven snorted. "I know. We've both been using that defense all night."

He shrugged. She had a point. They had both been skirting around whatever they were _not_ saying by defending its complexity over and over. Aqualad huffed out a breath and pushed at his hair, still avoiding her stare. "I promised Robin that I wouldn't."

"Promised Robin what?"

Her eyes narrowed and Aqualad suddenly felt as though everything outside of this moment had melted away. Sitting here, in this little table tucking in a secluded corner in a quiet dining room, soft jazz playing off in the distance, it felt like the real world was miles away from him. It felt as though everything in his life was leading up to his moment, and before he could really think about stopping himself, the words slipped out.

"About how I feel about you."

He watched Raven swallow, her cheeks flushed a deep pink, and her eyes grew wide. A long second stretched between them before she whispered. "And, how _do_ you feel about me?"

"That's the thing I promised not to tell."

* * *

 _Ugh. This is a hot mess, but it had to be done to move this story forward. Thanks for putting up with me, and thanks for being awesome._


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